The average Minnesotan and even most natural resource managers are not skilled in plant identification, yet the ability to positively identify plants is crucial to a number of conservation activities, including identifying areas that need protection, recognizing new or existing invasive species, monitoring restoration projects, and delineating wetlands. The Minnesota Wildflowers project attempts to fill this need with a free web-based field guide ultimately aimed at providing profiles for each of the over 2,100 vascular plant species in Minnesota.
New and innovatively designed greenhouse facilities have the potential to provide sustainable food, fuel, and other products year round by utilizing ecological processes and other practices to integrate production of fish, plants, and algae in a low input, self-sustainable system. The City of Silver Bay and researchers at the University of Minnesota – Duluth are using this appropriation to expand and enhance a demonstration greenhouse facility. Refined techniques developed at the facility have the potential to be transferred and replicated at similar facilities throughout the state.
The number of people from other cultures and languages is increasing in Minnesota. It is important that they learn the behaviors that will help Minnesota preserve and enhance its natural resources. Yet, communicating and effectively interacting with people across cultures to change behaviors on natural resources, conservation, pollution prevention and stewardship is challenging. Most environmental information is designed for reaching native English readers. Translating and printing information often does not reach the intended audiences, who are often part of an oral culture.
The City of Floodwood will be upgrading their existing campground. Improvements include additional camping sites, a fishing pier, RV dump station, electrical services, river access and park buildings.
Design and pilot the expansion of a program to conduct an enhanced forest inventory on private and county lands, complementing the work already begun on some public forest lands.
Friends of the Boundary Water Wilderness will connect over 10,000 Minnesota youth to the Boundary Waters through state standards-aligned environmental education, experiential learning, and multi-day wilderness canoe trips.
This project will build the first comprehensive list of Minnesota moths and butterflies. Information gained through surveys and outreach efforts will inform land managers and inspire public appreciation.
This project will improve wetland protection, management, and restoration in Minnesota by completing a partially established long-term wetland hydrology monitoring network that will provide critical knowledge of wetland hydrology.
The Frogtown area of St. Paul is a culturally diverse, low-income neighborhood having less green space per child than any other neighborhood in the city and was recently identified as an area in need of a new park. This appropriation is being used by The Trust for Public Land, in partnership with the City of St. Paul, to acquire a portion of twelve acres of a currently vacant space in the area to establish the multi-purpose Frogtown Farm and Park.
This project will create and optimize eDNA assays to detect the presence of 8 endangered or threatened mussel species around Buffalo Slough near Prairie Island Indian Community.
This project will equip out-of-school youth organizations across Minnesota with knowledge, skills and resources to incorporate outdoor nature activities into after-school programs and engage under-privileged children with the outdoors.
The project proposes a .48 mile trail along the Otter Tail River in downtown Fergus Falls as well as a 125 ft. long bicycle and pedestrian bridge crossing the river.
Rehabilitate existing mountain bike trail to increase environmental sustainability through best trail building practices and to provide better user access through modifications allowing adaptive cycling opportunities.
Provide approximately 25 matching grants for local parks, acquisition of locally significant natural areas and trails to connect people safety to desirable community locations and regional or state facilities.
Provide approximately 25 matching grants for local parks, acquisition of locally significant natural areas and trails to connect people safety to desirable community locations and regional or state facilities.
Provide approximately 13 matching grants for local parks, acquisition of locally significant natural areas and trails to connect people safety to desirable community locations and regional or state facilities.
Complete a centralized aquifer property database to provide needed hydrogeologic data for characterization of groundwater storage, recovery and appropriation sites.
Design and construct fencing and handling facility needed to reintroduce bison to Camden State Park as part of preserving and interpreting the population and genome of American Plains bison.
Determine habitat associations of breeding bottomland forest birds in response to restoration actions along the Mississippi River at the Reno Bottoms outside Reno, MN
To acquire fee title to 16 parcels to allow for the extension of the state trail from Harmony south to the Iowa state boarder with a spur to Niagara Cave.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
MDHA funding restored a total of two oak savannahs (grassland enhancement) consisting of 35 acres on the Winger Waterfowl Production Area (WPA). Federal WPA's are managed for waterfowl production and are open to public hunting and other recreation consistent with the National Wildlife Refuge System. This restoration to the oak savannahs will create suitable habitat for deer, turkey, ruffed grouse, and other cavity nesting birds.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
The objective of this project was to accelerate Ducks Unlimited (DU) bio-engineering assistance to help agencies design and construct enhancement projects on shallow lakes for waterfowl using water control structures. DU biologists and engineers provided technical assistance to Minnesota DNR, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and private landowners around shallow lakes with a goal of:
Overall Project Outcome and Results
DNR spent $140,689 to continue on-site field investigations to accelerate management of shallow lakes and adjacent wetland complexes and support the accomplishments of Ducks Unlimited through HCP 2c and 3c. Temporary field personnel (1 full time and up to 6 temporary) documented shallow lake habitat occurrence and quality. Habitat surveys were conducted on 171 lakes within seven HCP project areas. The lakes surveyed totaled over 82,831acres. The surveys were distributed more broadly than in the past with:
Overall Project Outcome and Results
This project contained two types of habitat enhancement that resulted in the enhancement of a total of 72 acres of habitat.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) 2009 work program focused on 6 habitat restoration projects totaling 3,664 acres (3,118-ENRTF funds; 546-other funds). Additional details, beyond the short summary below, are found in the more detailed reporting provided for each project.
